Pakistani leader call for reduction of troops on the Indian border

Posted: Monday, October 18, 1999

The Associated Press

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - The head of Pakistan's new military regime announced Sunday a unilateral reduction of troops on the Indian border, the establishment of a military-technocrat ruling council and an eventual return to civilian rule.

In a speech to the nation, Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf announced the formation of a six-member National Security Council of army officers and experts in legal, foreign and national affairs to govern the country. The council would be assisted by "a think tank of experts."

The speech was Musharraf's first public appearance since he went on national television to announce the ouster of the civilian government last Tuesday.

"This is not martial law," said Musharraf, but rather "another path toward democracy."

The constitution was not scrapped - only temporarily suspended, he said. He gave no indication when civilian rule would be restored but said "the armed forces have no intention to stay in charge longer than necessary."

Musharraf said he would welcome a resumption of "result-oriented" talks with nuclear-rival India, which has fought three wars with Pakistan since both countries won their independence from Britain in 1947. Pakistan is overwhelmingly Muslim, while India is predominantly Hindu.

But Musharraf made it clear that Pakistan will continue to support Kashmiri militants with moral, political and diplomatic backing. The militants are seeking independence from India in Kashmir, the country's only Muslim-majority state.

The announcement of a thinning of troops on the Indian border was unexpected. Musharraf said it was intended as a gesture to rebuild confidence with New Delhi.

India reacted cautiously to the announcement, saying the proposed pullback was not from the volatile cease-fire line in Kashmir, where tensions between the two nations are the highest.

"They say they will pull back from the international border. . . . Tension was not on the international border. It was on the Line of Control," India's National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra said on the private STAR Television network.